History Main / VideoGameVista

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'':

This is especially common in [[WideOpenSandbox open world games]], since they have a tendency towards large open spaces to begin with. It will typically come immediately after completing the tutorial or starting area and may feature a striking shot of several [[NoticeThis important landmarks]] [[OpeningTheSandbox to give the player a good idea of where to go first]].

Compare CrowsNestCartography, which is more of a mechanic that allows the player to see points of interest, but still may involve showing off the game's world from high up. May involve a SceneOfWonder if the character reacts to a spectacular view. Contrast ScenicTourLevel, which is when a more linear game takes you through a more scenic level either to show off the visuals of the game in question and/or give you a taste of the environment. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows Vista]].

* ''VideoGame/{{ULTRAKILL}}'': 2-1 features a long, enclosed corridor and upward shaft that V1 fights its way through before arriving on a huge platform overlooking the layer of Lust, with the Corpse of King Minos looming in the distance. It's accomplished with {{Retraux}} UsefulNotes/PlayStation-style graphics, so there's not much to see visually, but the depth and scale of what the player is seeing accomplishes the same effect.

* ''VideoGame/UnrealI'' features scenic vistas designed to boast the graphical capabilities of the UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine:

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zelda_07.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim You see that mountain? You can climb it]]."]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' III and IV, you can take landscape photos at certain points to send in for rewards.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', we get a sweeping shot of the Great Plateau when Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection. Since Link has amnesia, this is again a whole new world to him.

* ''Videogame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' generally adds a cutscene every time a new area is visited for the first time. Of particular note in their SceneryPorn value are the cutscenes for Sanctuary Fortress in Videogame/MetroidPrime2 and for Elysia in Videogame/MetroidPrime3.

* ''VideoGame/SniperElite4'': Upon reaching the clock tower ruins in the "San Celini Island" mission, Karl, and by extension, the player, is given an excellent view of the rest of the beautiful island, which of course shows most of the targets and objectives of the rest of the map, and also establishes how much bigger the maps in this game are compared to its predecessor.
* ''VideoGame/SniperElite5'': The opening section of "Spy Academy" showcases just how massive and beautiful the island of Beaumont-Saint Denis is, which in this case covers 3/4th of the map.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'':
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': Every time you reach a new area, the game gives a brief cutscene of SceneryPorn with the name of the region.

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'': The Surface Tension chapter has you crawl out of a pipe and onto a sheer cliff face of a desert canyon, which is the most expansive bit of scenery you'll see until you hit Xen. With every remake the beauty of the vista only grew in scope and detail. ''VideoGame/BlackMesaSource'' properly gave this treatment to the first glimpse of Xen as well.

%%* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' is a natural pick, largely thanks to its abundance of climbable towers. 2 and Unity feature this trope prominently in their intros.
* ''VideoGame/BioShock'':
** ''VideoGame/Bioshock1'': After Andrew Ryan concludes his "I chose Rapture" speech in the bathysphere, the player is treated to the first sight of the underwater city of Rapture, as a whale swims by and a giant squid shoots past.
** ''VideoGame/Bioshock2'' opens with a more standard version, where Delta walks over a small underwater hill to see Rapture in complete and utter ruins, a shadow of what it looked like in the first game.
** ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' introduces Columbia in a manner [[AlternateUniverse deliberately very similar to the first game]], with an airship flying past Booker's capsule in the exact same way a whale did back in ''VideoGame/BioShock''.

** The massive GameMod project, ''VideoGame/BeyondSkyrim'', features one in its ''Bruma'' pre-release. As the player-character crosses the border to Cyrodiil at Pale Pass, and makes their way down from the Jerall Mountains, the player is treated to the sight of the lush and green Nibenay Valley stretching out in the lowlands before you, with Lake Rumare and the Imperial City at its center, and the red mountains marking the border to Elsweyr being just barely visible in the far distance, hinting at the scope the ''Beyond Skyrim'' project will have once it's done.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': The Surface Tension chapter has you crawl out of a pipe and onto a sheer cliff face of a desert canyon, which is the most expansive bit of scenery you'll see until you hit Xen. With every remake the beauty of the vista only grew in scope and detail.
** ''VideoGame/BlackMesaSource'' properly gave this treatment to the first glimpse of Xen as well.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'': Unusually for an open-world game, this actually occurs in the starting area. After her [[ShaggyDogStory escapade at the Far Zenith spaceport trying to find a GAIA kernel]], Aloy takes the huge Oseram elevator down into the Daunt, a narrow but beautiful and secluded valley that represents the very edge of Carja territory. The player can likely see all the way to Barren Light at the border of the Utaru territory from that high above, and the elevator ride's conclusion represents the first time they are truly cut loose and are free to explore the world.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage}} Kingdom Hearts 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage]]'', to get trophy nr. 24, the player has to reach the uppermost spot of Castle Town (a part of Cinderella's world). Upon reaching it, the camera pans out to show an aerial view of the town, then pans in to focus on the castle, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzbFkFwQyAk here (around 08:40 mark)]].

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', we get a sweeping shot of the Great Plateau when Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection. Since Link has amnesia, this is again a whole new world to him. The page picture has Link further Southwest, with the Great Plateau visible on his left.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': When Ethan Winters got out of the woods, he saw the view of a European village for the first time. The view includes the castle and the mill.

* ''VideoGame/TrailsOfColdSteel'' has this as an actual collectable in III and IV, you can take landscape photos at certain points to send in for rewards.
* ''VideoGame/{{ULTRAKILL}}'': 2-1 features a long, enclosed corridor and upward shaft that V1 fights its way through before arriving on a huge platform overlooking the layer of Lust, with the Corpse of King Minos looming in the distance. Downplayed in that it's obviously accomplished with {{Retraux}} [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PS1]]-style graphics, so there's not much to see visually, but the depth and scale of what the player is seeing accomplishes the same effect.

* ''VideoGame/UnrealI'' exploits this every time they can with their largest levels, as evidenced by its intro:

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode Two'': At one point, during the early stages of the episode, you're required to take a look at the scenery towards the destroyed City 17, an event that prompts a resonance wave that removes a fence and allows you to continue.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' features two such moments: The first being when the player exits the Hero's Grave and sees most of Limgrave laid out before them. The second is after beating Godrick and clearing Stormveil ([[DungeonBypass or not and going around]]) when the player is positioned on a cliff over Liurnia Of The Lakes and can see all the way to Raya Lucaria Academy, Mt. Gelmir and Leyndell, Royal Capital, three very important locations later on.

** The massive GameMod project, ''VideoGame/BeyondSkyrim'', features one in its ''Bruma'' pre-release. As the player-character crosses the border to Cyrodiil at Pale Pass, and makes their way down from the Jerall Mountains, the player is treated to the sight of the lush and green Nibenay Valley stretching out in the lowlands before you, with Lake Rumare and the Imperial City at its center, and the red mountains marking the border to Elsweyr being just barely visible in the far distance, hinting at the scope the ''Beyond Skyrim'' project will have once its done.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', when Link first enters Hyrule field, we get a panning shot of the whole thing. This serves a narrative purpose, as Link grew up confined to Kokiri Forest, and this is a whole new world to him.

%%* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' is a natural pick, largely thanks to its abundance of climbable towers. 2 and Unity feature this trope prominently in their intros.

** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': The game's AttractMode shows off the SceneryPorn of Mira.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' is a natural pick, largely thanks to its abundance of climbable towers. 2 and Unity feature this trope prominently in their intros.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', we get a sweeping shot of the Great Plateau when Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection. Since Link has amnesia, this is again a whole new world to him.

Compare CrowsNestCartography, which is more of a mechanic that allows the player to see points of interest, but still may involve showing off the game's world from high up. May involve a SceneOfWonder if the character reacts to a spectacular view. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows Vista]].

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': In the "Overlord" [=DLC=], as Shepard and company travel across the planet, the Hammerhead?s VI will [[LampshadeHanging take note]] of a visually pleasing view for the player to witness nearby.

The primary reason for doing this is the implication that the player can and will go to most of the places they can see at that moment, which not only gives the player a greater understanding of their impending journey, but also heightens the illusion that the game is larger than it is and really feels like an all-encompassing world, especially if the game is more linear in its design.

This is especially common in [[WideOpenSandbox open world games]], since they have a tendency towards large open spaces to begin with. It will typically come immediately after completing the tutorial or starting area, and may feature a striking shot of several [[NoticeThis important landmarks]] [[OpeningTheSandbox to give the player a good idea of where to go first]].

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': When the player first leaves Vault 101 near the beginning of the game, they will be standing on a cliff with a sign with the words Scenic Lookout printed on it. From here the player can see the ruins of the town of Springvale and it's elementary school. In addition the settlement of Megaton can also be spotted in the distance as well.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' features one such location every level; in the very first room of each floor, there is a cliff that Zagreus can stare out over to look down into that level of the underworld, and a final one after [[spoiler:beating his father Hades where he can look down into snow-covered Greece]].

* ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'': Unusually for an open world game, this actually occurs in the starting area. After her [[ShaggyDogStory escapade at the Far Zenith spaceport trying to find a GAIA kernel]], Aloy takes the huge Oseram elevator down into the Daunt, a narrow but beautiful and secluded valley which represents the very edge of Carja territory. The player can likely see all the way to Barren Light at the border of the Utaru territory from that high above, and the elevator ride's conclusion represents the first time they are truly cut loose and are free to explore the world.

** "[=NyLeve's=] Falls" has Prisoner 849 exiting from the ship to a large, vast wilderness with some rabbits and flies and huts. [[SceneryGorn And corpses]]. Just outside of the Vortex Rikers there's also the crash site, in a cliff that allows you to see the ginormous lower levels and the big lake.

Compare CrowsNestCartography, which is more of a mechanic that allows the player to see points of interest, but still may involve showing off the game's world from high up. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows Vista]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' probably has too many examples to list, as Drake and co. are constantly in high-up places looking out over ancient, abandoned, breathtakingly beautiful cities. The entrances to [[VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves Shambhala]], [[VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception Ubar]] and [[VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd Libertalia]] definitely all qualify, though.

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': Chapter 5-''The Edge'' is the first moment that lets Walker-and by extension the player-suddenly feel the verticality and scope of the city of Dubai, as the player realizes how high up they are after walking out onto the edge of the skyscraper they just battled through.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': In the "Overlord" [=DLC=], as Shepard and company travel across the planet, the Hammerhead?s VI will take note of a visually pleasing view for the player to witness nearby.

** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': The game's AttractMode shows off the SceneryPorn of Mira.

Compare CrowsNestCartography, which is more of a mechanic that allows the player to see points of interest, but still may involve showing off the game's world from high up.

*** Second, if the player-character is following the game's main story after escaping Helgen, they will head to Riverwood and be asked to head down to Whiterun to inform Jarl Balgruuf. Following the path north out of Riverwood will eventually take the player to the edge of a ridge that overlooks Whiterun Hold, a massive plain with mountains in the distance and the hill on which the city of Whiterun itself is built, revealing the true scope of the game's world.